If the Germans want influence in Europe they need to do it by being a major military player in the continent once again. The EU is not a suitable means of doing this, they need real power. People will listen to Berlin when they realise that the Germans can actually protect them and make a real difference in hard power terms. This must be still within a national context, there cannot be a European army, only a European alliance. The EU could be something like the soft power of this type of arrangement but to push for further integration is going to only alienate Europeans from any type of European unity.

We need a European military alliance maintaining the indendendence of European states and a decentralised European Union which does not interfere in the internal affairs of member states. Of course Russia must be a partner to such a project. As it stands the current EU is going to end in failure. You cannot have a centralised authority in Europe without imposing it through military force. National feeling inclines people against such centralisation. Germany can be the guarantor of the security of little states and a partner with France and Poland.

We could even perhaps link the European Union to the Eurasian Union and have it go from Dublin to Vladivostok.

We must also be realistic about what guarantees peace in Europe. It's American military power. The EU merely builds good will and economic interdependence on top of such an arrangement. There can be no European project unless Berlin shows leadership and takes Europe on its own path.